Indian healthcare IT now a $1 billion market, says Nasscom

According to a report by IT industry body Nasscom, the Indian healthcare IT market is valued at $1 billion and likely to grow about 1.5 times by 2020.Priyanka Sangani | ET Bureau | April 30, 2016, 10:01 IST

Pune:The Indian healthcare IT market is valued at $1billion (about Rs 6,650 crore) and is likely to grow about 1.5 times by 2020, according to a report by IT industry body Nasscom.

The report said within the market, the healthcare software segment generated revenues of $96.8 million in 2014 and is likely to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11% over the next five years. Comparatively, the worldwide health tech market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 6% to $25 billion by 2020 from $17.36 billion in 2014.

In India, healthcare software is a small part of the total healthcare IT segment, comprising only about 9%. "There are about 150 companies operating in this space in India and they are creating products and solutions for a global customer and finding acceptance," Sangeeta Gupta, senior vice-president — events, research and communication at Nasscom, told ET.

There has been a sharp increase in India in the number of health tech startups — about 60% of the total number of companies — in the past few years and these have attracted funding worth over $100 million since 2014. Gupta said wearables and well-being related solutions were seeing a lot of consumer interest and were doing well within the broader spectrum of health tech products. Given the overall shift happening towards patient-driven healthcare, mobile apps and healthcare platforms are other areas that are likely to grow fast.

The privatisation of healthcare is another big factor that is driving technology adoption. While companies are coming up with patient management solutions that are being adopted by private institutes, government institutes will provide the biggest opportunity to companies in this space.

"Nasscom is working with companies and the government on certain initiatives, but the process takes time. Because of the three-year track record aspect, most startups cannot pitch directly to the government unless they work with another larger company," Gupta said.

Over the next decade, healthcare predictive analytics and cloud computing solutions are likely to grow rapidly.

While fast adoption of personalised health tech is giving companies the numbers they want, this doesn't necessarily translate into revenue.

"Consumer adoption is helping create a market; the revenues will come from the enterprises," said Gupta.